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Cowell vs Fuller in High Court battle

Last Modified: 23 Nov 2005
Source: ITN

Music moguls Simon Cowell and Simon Fuller are heading to court for a £100m head to head battle over the X Factor.

Pop Idol creator Fuller, who used to be firm friends with Cowell, is claiming the judge has copied his own show's format to create the X Factor.

Simon Fuller is the brains behind pop sensations the Spice Girls and S Club 7. He created both Pop Idol and American Idol, shows which brought us Will Young, Gareth Gates and Kelly Clarkson.

It was Fuller's company 19 TV who catapulted Cowell into a household name around the globe when he was hired as a judge for the Pop Idol series.

Reports say the two men fell out because of Cowell's success as the acerbic judge of the series, with his sarcastic and painfully truthful comments being talked about world wide.

Fuller is claiming X Factor is a "rip-off" of the Pop Idol series and is a breach of copyright as it alledges a number of it's production team also worked on Pop Idol and signed contracts which restricted them from working on rival shows.

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